SEND Information

At Aston Lodge Primary School we value the abilities and achievements of all of our pupils. We are committed to providing the best possible environment for learning.

We want our children to:-

Achieve their best

Become confident individuals

Develop essential life skills to prepare for adulthood

We run an open door policy, if you have concerns talk to your child’s class teacher or the SENCO. We will always listen to you and take your concerns seriously. We know that you have a huge amount of knowledge about your child and in conjunction with our school views and observations, we can help build a better picture of what your child needs.

The aim of this bill is to improve services for vulnerable children and support strong families.

It underpins wider reforms to ensure that all children and young people can succeed, no matter what their background.

It will reform the systems for adoption, looked after children, family justice and special educational needs.

SEN

The Government has recently made changes the system for children and young people with SEN, including those who are disabled, so that services consistently support the best outcomes for them. The Children and Families Bill extended the SEN system from birth to 25, giving children, young people and their parents/carers greater control and choice in decisions and ensuring needs are properly met.

The Bill takes forward the reform programme set out in Support and Aspiration: A New Approach to Special Educational Needs and Disability.

It plans to make progress by:-

Replacing Statements and Learning Difficulty Assessments with a new Birth-25 Education, Health and Care Plan – extending rights and protections to young people in further education and training and offering families personal budgets so that they have more control over the support they need.

Improving cooperation between all the services that support children and their families and particularly requiring local authorities and health authorities to work together.

Requiring local authorities to involve children, young people and parents in reviewing and developing provision for those with special educational needs and to publish a ‘local offer’ of support

A pupil has SEN where their learning difficulty or disability calls for special educational provision that is additional to or different from that provided for pupils of the same age. The types of SEN for which provision is provided are as follows:

Cognition and Learning Needs

Children who learn at a slower pace than their peers despite appropriate differentiation and provision of programmes designed to help them catch up may have SEN in the area of cognition and learning. This would include children with general learning difficulties and more specific difficulties such as dyslexia or dyscalculia. These children may require specific programmes as well as in-class differentiation and supports. The school accesses support from learning support services (LSS) to help meet the needs of these children.

Social, Emotional and Mental Health Needs

Young people who experience a wide range of social and emotional difficulties, which show themselves in different ways, for example challenging behaviours, withdrawn or isolated behaviours, anxieties or depression, will be supported according to their need. Pupil’s views are fundamental when assessing need and providing support within this area. The school accesses support from the Rotherham Social, Emotional and Mental Health Team (SEMHT) to help meet the needs of these pupils.

Sensory, Physical and Medical Needs

Young people who have a disability that prevents them from accessing the environment or curriculum of the school, including for example children with visual or hearing impairment would be assessed as having sensory, physical or medical needs. Some children in this area would need a health care plan in place.

Communication and Interaction Needs

Children with speech, language and communication needs, including those with Autism Spectrum Condition, may need personalised programmes or adaptations to the environment or curriculum and this will be provided where necessary. The school buys into traded services for speech and language and has a speech therapist on site for a minimum of 1 day each half term to help us to set and deliver speech therapy programmes. The school also accesses support from the Autism Communication Team (ACT).

limited progress is being made despite appropriate teaching and differentiation

there is a change in the pupils behaviour or progress

Identification and Assessment

Aston Lodge Primary School is committed to early identification of SEN and adopts a graduated response to meeting SEN in line with the 2014 Code of Practice. The Code of Practice makes it clear that all teachers are teachers of pupils with SEN and are responsible for identifying pupils with SEN and supporting their progress through quality first teaching in the classroom.

The school will use appropriate screening and assessment tools and ascertain pupil progress through:-

Each pupil’s education programme will be planned by the class teacher in response to what we know about their learning profile. Learning will be differentiated accordingly to suit the pupil’s individual needs and will aim to ‘plug’ gaps in learning that are impacting on progress. This may include additional general support by the teacher or teaching assistant in class, targeted at areas that the child needs to make progress in.

Focus Groups

If a pupil has needs related to specific areas of their education, such as spelling, handwriting, numeracy and literacy skills etc. then the pupil may be placed in a small focus group. This will be run by the teacher or teaching assistant. The length of time of the intervention will vary according to need but will generally be for a term. The interventions will be regularly reviewed by all involved to ascertain the effectiveness of the provision and to inform future planning. If you have any queries related to the interventions please do not hesitate to contact the class teacher or SENCo

Individual Support

Some children may at times require individual support to work on an identified area. This support will generally be in the form of a recognised intervention programme aimed at a specific area of learning. It is likely to be delivered by a trained Teaching Assistant. Such programmes are usually provided for a short period of time (generally a term). The SENCO will monitor the progress that children make on these programmes. This 1-1 support is more often used in reading interventions.

Pupil Progress Meetings

Pupil Progress Meeting are held each term. This is a meeting where the class teacher meets with the Senior Leadership Team to discuss the progress of all the pupils in their class. This shared discussion may highlight any potential problems in order for further support to be planned.

Expert Support

Occasionally a pupil may need more expert support from an outside agency such as the Learning Support Service, Speech and Language Therapist, Educational Psychologist, Behaviour Support Team or Autism Communication Team. A referral will be made, with your consent, and forwarded to the most appropriate agency. After a series of assessments, a programme of support is usually provided to the school and parents/carers.

Governors

The Governors of Aston Lodge Primary School are responsible for entrusting a named person, Emily Smith, to monitor SEND. The Governors ensure that the school is as inclusive as possible and treats all children and staff in an equitable way. They monitor and review statutory policies as defined by the DfE.

Activities and school trips are available to all. Risk assessments are carried out and procedures are put in place to enable all children to participate. However if it is deemed that an intensive level of 1:1 support is required a parent/carer or additional member of staff may be asked to accompany the child during the activity.

Aston Lodge Primary School recognises the important contribution that external support services make in assisting to identify, assess and provide for SEN pupils. A graduated response will be taken to SEND. When it is considered necessary colleagues from the following support services will be involved with SEND pupils:-

You can discuss your child’s learning at the Parents’ Consultation meetings that take place twice a year for all children, or make an appointment to see their class teacher to discuss any issues. The teacher may be able to suggest ways in which you can support your child.

Reviews

Further meetings will be arranged for children with SEND who are accessing support from outside agencies. These meetings will be arranged by the SENCo and parents and other agencies will be invited. At these meetings the views of parents and all professionals involved with the child will be discussed. We will agree together any further steps that need to be put in place.

Progress is the crucial factor in determining the need for additional support and monitoring the impact of any additional programmes the child has been working on.

Adequate progress is that which:

narrows the attainment gap between pupils and peers

prevents the attainment gap widening

is equivalent to that of peers starting from the same baseline.

equals or improves upon the pupil’s previous rate of progress

ensures full curricular access

shows an improvement in self-help and social or personal skills

shows improvements in the pupil’s behaviour

Where the class teacher assess that a pupil’s learning is unsatisfactory they will discuss this with the parents and put plans in place to improve the rate of progress. Parent views will be listened to and the teacher will work closely with you to improve outcomes for your child. If progress does not improve the SENCo will be consulted.

The SENCo and teacher will review the approaches adopted and parents will be fully consulted at each stage. Outside agencies may be contacted to provide additional support. A decision may then be made to record the child’s name on the SEN register, and additional provision may be put in place.

All teachers are responsible for meeting the needs of the children within their class.

To ensure a smooth transition into the next class:

The current teacher and receiving teacher meet in July to discuss the needs of the children in their class and how they learn best

Where children have a significant SEN the receiving teacher will be present at the last review of the year before they move into the new class. This will give the new teacher and parents a chance to meet and plan how to meet the child’s needs

All children will visit their new class for a day in the Summer term

All children moving into Foundation Stage 2 and Year 3 have additional transition visits

All parents are invited to a meet the teacher event in the Summer term before their child moves into a new class

If you wish to discuss your child’s educational needs or are unhappy about something regarding your child’s schooling, please contact the school office to arrange a meeting with your child’s class teacher or the SENCo. You may also wish to contact our SEND Governor, Emily Smith.

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Aston Lodge Primary School is part of Wickersley Partnership Trust. The Trust is an exempt charity regulated by the Secretary of State for Education. It is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (company number 8833508).